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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
informative
fast-paced
While I learned a few things I didn't know, there are lots of ways this book could have been better. Firstly, the book moves chronologically(ish). While this gives you a reasonable historical grounding, and might be useful if you're less familiar with British history, it gives you no geographical sense of London as a queer space whatsoever. I would love to have seen this divided instead by geographical location, or at the very least with some maps, pointing out how spaces link through time. While this book talks about 'queer' London, what it really means (surprise, surprise) is 'the London of men who have sex with men'. It talks very sparingly about women, trans and gender nonconforming people. This mostly occurs in the final chapter, which gives it a feeling of 'gay men have existed for centuries, but in the mid-20th Century, women and trans people were invented!'. There are some occasional earlier mentions, but they are few and far between. On the whole, the book feels bitty and disconnected and where themes could have been drawn out, or links made by area, these have been disregarded in favour of a fragmented chronological retelling.
informative
slow-paced
I guess it’s historically accurate but god, is it boring. And it does just reduce queerness largely to gay men and it also focuses more on the punishments throughout time than the deeds. And the ONE thing I found interesting was the Black woman, who in 1815, successfully captained a ship - but there was NO COMMENT on the aspect of race?? Idk it was just booooring.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality
I was thrilled to get Peter Ackroyd's QUEER CITY as a Goodreads Giveaway book. What is inside, for the most part, does not disappoint. There are so many anecdotes and stories of queer London, shocking and rude and heartbreaking and humorous, that it really puts a lot of color and character into our queer English ancestors. I appreciated the look at lesbian and gay men, and an acknowledgment that trans folks and genderqueer/genderfluid existed in the past, although we didn't have the words to describe these gender complexities back then.
My favorite stories were probably about queer folks in power and with real societal influence. It really means a lot to me, as a bisexual woman, to hear stories of powerful queer people who, in some ways were able to live their lives authentically but could never truly be themselves, although some succeeded through using the cultural depictions of queer people to their advantage. The stories of queer women who took on traditionally masculine roles and careers and became legends of their time were outstanding and, quite frankly, inspiring.
At times this book also broke my heart, mainly when QUEER CITY describes the desperate measures gay men would go through to avoid being arrested for just being found with another men, from leaving the country to jumping into the Thames. These men were just trying to live, but were forced to hide vital parts of themselves, arrange hook-ups in back alleys and lavatories, create elaborate codes in order to safely identify other gay men, and yet were still harassed, arrested, attacked, and killed for being men who loved other men. And, as Ackroyd points out, even though we have improved in gay rights, it is still not fully safe for queer people to be themselves out in the open. How far have we truly gone?
This book would have been so perfect if it didn't spend so much time in the 1700's - is this where the bulk of queer history for London really takes place? This seems like an off-balance focus on one period, and by the time you get to the 1900's, it feels shoehorned in. Speaking of the 1900's/2000's last chapter, it could have used some serious editorial restraint. At one point, Ackroyd breaks away from his thesis of queer London history and goes on a rant about the "sudden" flux of gender identities and gender fluidity and the "examine your privilege" sub-culture online, none of which gels with the rest of the book and feels thrown in to fulfill some lingering personal agenda with the Twitter/Tumblr blogosphere. It was obnoxious and put a bitter aftertaste on an otherwise intelligent history of a very queer, very dynamic city.
A reviewer copy of the book was provided for free by the Goodreads giveaway program and Beacon Press; no other compensation was offered for this review, nor was a review required to receive the book.
My favorite stories were probably about queer folks in power and with real societal influence. It really means a lot to me, as a bisexual woman, to hear stories of powerful queer people who, in some ways were able to live their lives authentically but could never truly be themselves, although some succeeded through using the cultural depictions of queer people to their advantage. The stories of queer women who took on traditionally masculine roles and careers and became legends of their time were outstanding and, quite frankly, inspiring.
At times this book also broke my heart, mainly when QUEER CITY describes the desperate measures gay men would go through to avoid being arrested for just being found with another men, from leaving the country to jumping into the Thames. These men were just trying to live, but were forced to hide vital parts of themselves, arrange hook-ups in back alleys and lavatories, create elaborate codes in order to safely identify other gay men, and yet were still harassed, arrested, attacked, and killed for being men who loved other men. And, as Ackroyd points out, even though we have improved in gay rights, it is still not fully safe for queer people to be themselves out in the open. How far have we truly gone?
This book would have been so perfect if it didn't spend so much time in the 1700's - is this where the bulk of queer history for London really takes place? This seems like an off-balance focus on one period, and by the time you get to the 1900's, it feels shoehorned in. Speaking of the 1900's/2000's last chapter, it could have used some serious editorial restraint. At one point, Ackroyd breaks away from his thesis of queer London history and goes on a rant about the "sudden" flux of gender identities and gender fluidity and the "examine your privilege" sub-culture online, none of which gels with the rest of the book and feels thrown in to fulfill some lingering personal agenda with the Twitter/Tumblr blogosphere. It was obnoxious and put a bitter aftertaste on an otherwise intelligent history of a very queer, very dynamic city.
A reviewer copy of the book was provided for free by the Goodreads giveaway program and Beacon Press; no other compensation was offered for this review, nor was a review required to receive the book.
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
An interesting overview of gay life throughout London's history. I listened to the audiobook version, which I recommend. There is plenty to learn from this, even for those well-versed in queer history.
informative
fast-paced
So this was a highly information-packed history of queer London. But it should perhaps have been longer to cover it rather than incident after incident. Some parts just seemed like a list of crimes here and there. I listened to the audiobook format and the narrator's voice was easy to listen to.
informative
medium-paced
Despite being full to the brim of interesting facts and stories, Ackroyd's book barely has a structure. While going in chronological order, the connection between queerness and London are strained to nonexistent. I'm glad I read this, and I certainly knew more than I did, but Queer City is a mess.
I found the writing quite dense and difficult to parse. Also the title says queer city yet 99% of the content I got through was about cis gay men, this may have changed later in the book but I lost access on my library app and don't have any huge desire to seek it out and finish it
This was such an interesting look at history--spanning over the course of centuries, Ackroyd analyzes the attitudes of homosexuality from Roman times to present day, analyzing what it meant to be gay, lesbian, transgender/a crossdresser (as trans wasn't a "thing" yet), and queer in the changing times of this land. Besides, what exactly constituted as homosexuality? Was it a trend, a phase, or something long-lasting? And between whom did homosexuality exist?
Breaking the city's history down into readable and accessible chapters, Ackroyd divulges in the lives and lingo of gays, lesbians, and the rest of the "queer" spectrum as it grew. Each chapter is paired with an image relating to that chapter, making it for a sometimes really fun way to figure out how exactly they relate.
I found so much of what Ackroyd divulges to be new and interesting to me, and having visited London while reading this book was loads of fun and made me look at the city in a new light! This is definitely a great read for Pride Month--or for any other month, really!
Review cross-listed here!
Breaking the city's history down into readable and accessible chapters, Ackroyd divulges in the lives and lingo of gays, lesbians, and the rest of the "queer" spectrum as it grew. Each chapter is paired with an image relating to that chapter, making it for a sometimes really fun way to figure out how exactly they relate.
I found so much of what Ackroyd divulges to be new and interesting to me, and having visited London while reading this book was loads of fun and made me look at the city in a new light! This is definitely a great read for Pride Month--or for any other month, really!
Review cross-listed here!